Seventh-place finish comes with passing grade from race steward

It might be expected that Aaron Court, the son of jockey legend Jon Court, would someday take to the saddle and make his first ride, which came Friday in the fourth race at Ellis Park.

That would be notable by itself, but it gets better. His ride came on Court's Journey a horse owned by his stepmother, Krystal Court, who also bred the horse on the family's farm in California. It also was trained by Aaron's grandfather, William "Jinks" Fires.

"I've wanted to do this as long as I can remember," said Aaron Court. "Then I wanted it to be on Court's Journey because I got to be around to watch this horse come around. I took him through the gate at Oaklawn and Churchill. It's been a cool journey."

The younger Court handled his maiden voyage better than his dad.

"I was more nervous about this than I was for my two rides at the Kentucky Derby," said Jon Court. "That was the horse he wanted to ride in his first race. I was impressed with the way he handled himself. The horse ran according to its training."

What that came down to was a race spent mostly on the rail and a seventh place among nine entries.

"My main goal was just to get around safe and keep my horse safe," said Aaron Court. "The horse ran about like expected. Then everybody was telling me after the race that I looked like my dad. That was a huge compliment."

Jon Court, who had two wins Friday to move into first place in the jockey standings with seven wins, said watching the race was the hardest thing he did all day.

"I was a proud father today," he said. "It was hard to stay focused on my races, but I thought Aaron handled himself well in a tight race. This isn't something he rushed into. He's been preparing himself for a long time."

Aaron Court, 25, said racing's always been in his blood.

"I used to race motocross when I was young," he said. "I've always loved going fast, speed, speed, speed. Then I started getting educated and started galloping horses over the last five or six years.

"But I was always a little bigger, so I've been chipping away at my weight through diet and running over the last year to get ready for this and now I'm ready to go."

Friday's start was Aaron's first of three probationary races.

"I think they call it a three-race probationary term." said Jon Court. "After the race he came in and went over his ride with the steward and everything was fine.

Said Aaron Court: "I got the OK to get a pickup race, so now I'm hoping to get one (today). Getting that first race was a blast, definitely a lot of fun. I can't wait to do it again."